


A Time of Myth and Lions

by MarvelMerlin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, F/M, Hunk Revolution Big Bang, M/M, Merlin BBC AU, implied Klance in later parts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-20 07:13:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMerlin/pseuds/MarvelMerlin
Summary: Hunk’s father has died, and his brother, Lotor, has mysteriously reappeared after the attacking forces of Zarkon retreated. Hunk struggles to marry what he knows is right for his people with the expectations his father set for him. His agenda consists of three things:1.  Legalize magic after the Purge, knowing that his closest advisor is a Druid, and his father-figure is a practicing magician.2.  Establish a knight’s council, forming the roundtable, and begin to allow any who pass the test of knighthood to become knights, regardless of social standing or gender.3.  Somehow woo Shay, who he’s been in love since he learned what love is.





	1. Councils and Druids

Hunk Pendragon, son of King Uther Pendragon and Queen Ygraine de Bois, grandson of King Anlawd sat pondering how long his title was. In a few short days, it would be shortened to King Hunk Pendragon. The longer he stared at the flowing letters, the longer his head hurt. His father had died three months prior, and his coronation had been postponed due to the invasion of Castle Camelot by Zarkon king of Essetir.

That had ended two months prior, however, the last month had been spent trying to verify his newly reappeared... Hunk paused in his thoughts. He knew now that Lotor was indeed his paternal half-brother, and the family tree had been changed to read that, but what does one call the relation of your-father-took-this-kid-in-when-you-were-ten-and-it-never-left? That was the relation Hunk preferred to use to describe Lotor. The strange circumstances surrounding his brother’s reappearance and sudden claim to the Pendragon name had caused a bit of a stir with the bookkeeper.

Technically, as Lotor was eldest, he should be the next king, but children born out of wedlock were not permitted to be king, but he was the only heir to Gorlois, and by that right that would make him eligible, but Gorlois’ claim was only eligible if Uther’s son was dead and so on.

Hunk groaned and looked over at Allura, a scarf hiding her white hair and swirling druid mark, both of which would have marked her as an enemy of the kingdom had his father ever found out. Another reminder that he was doing something against his father’s wishes, and had been ever since Allura’s father sent her to apprentice with the castle’s healer Coran.

“‘Lura, if you were in control, what would you do?” Hunk asked

“Legalize existing,” she said in her joking tone looking up from the notes from a meeting she was copying.

Hunk smiled and sat up, looking at her and saying “Put it on the list.”

Allura smiled, getting out a separate piece of parchment, writing it down “You’ve got 20 different things written down. Maybe you should choose 2.”

Hunk sighed “Well, which ones should I get rid of?”

“This limit on house owning. No more than 2 houses? Who besides the nobility would that effect? And this archery thing...”

“Hey, if everyone practices then they can defend themselves!” Hunk defended before stopping and sighing “I guess you’re right. Hand me the list.” he said, taking the parchment from Allura

“How about 3?” He said

“Which three?” She asked, getting ready to write a new list

“The council of knights, allowing everyone to be a knight. Combine those 2 into the first one.” Hunk said, as Allura wrote it down

“Secondly, legalize magic. It’s gonna take the longest, might as well start now.” Hunk said, before leaning back

“Third?” Allura asked

“Geoffrey says I have 6 months to find a queen or I get dethroned and it passes to Lotor.” Hunk said, sighing.

Allura smirked and wrote it down “And I suppose you have some nerve to work up before asking Shay?”

Hunk rolled his eyes “Of course I do, I can’t just-” he cut off and glared at her “Shut up.”

Allura smiled innocently “You’ve got a few minutes before Shiro comes to grab you for training, I suggest you stop blushing.” she said in an affectionately teasing tone, gathering her healing kit and standing “My brother will be here in a few days time for the knight trials, please get to training before then.” 

Hunk sighed as she left, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

~

Hunk walked through the training grounds, mentally making a list of those he’d want on his table of knightly advisors. 

Shiro was the most obvious. He had trained Hunk, after all, served with him on many missions, and was as loyal as they come. Not to mention resilient. He’d lost his arm in the invasion by King Zarkon, but he still fought just as well. 

Hunk nodded to Shiro as he passed him instructing the newest batch of squires, continuing his walk.

Pidge and Lance were his personal favorites among the knights. The two of them were only made knights during the invasion, because even though they had both passed the knight’s test, neither came from noble families and were unable to be knighted. 

Hunk smiled as Lance lifted Pidge’s sword out of reach, trying to tease him, but as had become a normal sight on the training field, Pidge tackled Lance’s legs

“Be careful with the sharp objects you two!” Hunk shouted out playfully, Lance responding by shooting Hunk a slightly obscene gesture.

Hunk smiled, rolling his eyes and walking away from the wrestling match. He stopped in the middle of the field, looking around at his knights. Shay’s brother, of course, he was the size of a mountain, but gentle at heart, he’d be a voice of reason alongside Shiro’s. He continued looking around, adding about 10 more knights to his list. 

_ One more... _ Hunk thought to himself, looking at Allura’s half-brother, whirling around the field. Keith had appeared out of the forest a few days ago, and like his sister, hid his druid mark, though a few spiraling black lines peeking out from the collar of his shirt.

Hunk smiled, adding the last name to his list. Of course Allura would join the table, as would her mentor Coran. And someday, hopefully Shay would too. 

Hunk called for his manservant, telling him the list of knights he’d like brought to the council chamber, as well as the two healers. The manservant bowed and went to deliver the message as hunk made his way to the chamber, sitting down at the round table.

Slowly, members of the list began to trickle in, All standing near the door. The king must have the head of the table, but when there’s no head, they stand.

When all the knights had arrived, Hunk stood “As most of you are aware, my father had a council of trusted advisors. Advisors who have so far advised me to do things I know to be wrong. So to put things bluntly, I relieved them of their duty. Many of you in this room have been training with me for nigh a decade. Some of you have been with me through the darkest times this kingdom has faced, but all of you have provided your unwavering support. Since the invasion, we have been battered with multiple assaults on our borders. I need advisors who can not only advise on the day-to-day operations of the kingdom, but on issues of war. However, I do not wish to be advised as my father was before me. I wish to have a council of equals.” Hunk gestured to the round table

“And you, sixteen, will be the foundation for that council.” He finished, looking at each of them.

Shiro was the first to step forward “It would be my pleasure, your highness.” 

Hunk exhaled and smiled, gesturing to the seat opposite him on the round table. Slowly, one by one, each of the chosen accepted, some with a nod, some with a few words about how honored they were. Then there was Pidge, who just stepped into the seat on Hunk’s right, silent. Hunk would have found this strange if Lance hadn’t spoken up

“I think there’s enough of you here, and I don’t really fancy it.” He said, with a bit of a self-deprecating tone.

“You don’t have a choice Lance, just sit down and deal with it,” Hunk responded quickly, making sure that he had no way out, refusing to let Lance’s self-doubt get in the way of something Hunk thought, something he knew, that Lance would be amazing at.

Lance only offered a slight smile, taking the seat to Hunk’s left.

Hunk gestured for the members of his Round Table to sit down. He remained standing and addressed his new council

“The first order of business of this council will be to repeal the ban on magic. I realize that some of you would speak against this on the actions of Zarkon and angry sorcerers alone, but we cannot allow for the senseless slaughtering of people who had the accident of stumbling into magic. Magic is a tool, like a sword or arrow. We will have laws to govern those, but we will also have magic users employed by the kingdom to keep us safe, and ensure bountiful harvests. If you have any disagreements, I suggest you speak now.” He finished, sitting down.

Hunk looked around the table and gestured to a young knight, who stood, and asked “How long should we expect this transition to be? And how do you propose we keep those who would rather stick to the old ways from killing?” 

Hunk paused thoughtfully, looking at the council “I don’t know, but that is precisely why we have this council.”

The council members turned to each other, and talked, debating how expecting a turn-around of a month would be too little, but a year would be too long. Eventually, they decided on 3 months. 3 months, but the immediate decriminalization of magic, and an immediate stop to the executions. 

And the naming of a court magician. That should be appointed by the king. Hunk looked at Coran, and Keith, before his eyes settled on Allura.

Hunk spoke “I will appoint the most trusted Druid I know, and if they accept, I will announce them to you quickly.” his voice directed at Allura who smiled, her eyes glowing gold as she removed her scarf and nodded.

Pidge was the first to spot the spiraling arms of her mark. A sharp intake of breath came from the smaller knight, then Shiro noticed, jaw-dropping as he stared at the Druid.

“Allura, daughter of Alfor, last king of the druids, do you accept?” Hunk asked, smiling as Allura nodded, allowing her pure white hair to fall around her shoulders in a mass of braids.

The members of the council smiled, while Keith removed his neckerchief that had been covering his mark that spiraled up his neck, and Coran removed his glove to reveal his mark, nestled in the palm of his hand. 

Lance laughed before saying “Well, I think Coran here’s got us all beat for bravery.” 

Hunk smiled and spoke up after the council had calmed down again “The second order of business will be effective immediately. The standards of Knighthood will be changed. They will allow for anyone, regardless of gender or birth, to be eligible for the test of the knights.” A roar broke out around the table, as knights argued their birthright.

Hunk let it go on for a few minutes before banging his sword hilt on the table “Enough!” He shouted, and the room fell quiet. “Without Pidge and Lance, born commoners, we would not have been freed from Zarkon. Without Shay and Allura, we would not have been able to sneak anywhere, nor gather information. This is one item not up for debate. It will happen, and it will stay that way.” 

Hunk looked around his table, every one of the dissenters looked down in shame, Lance was smiling, but Pidge wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

After a few minutes, the meeting was dismissed and Hunk called Pidge over.

“Are you alright Pidge?” He asked, concerned

“Katie.” The knight responded, “My name is Katie.”

“Oh... So do you want new armor?” Hunk asked awkwardly, before adding on “Pidge, Katie, whatever your name is, you’re still a knight of Camelot. That doesn’t change anything.”

The small knight smiled and exhaled in relief

“I’m serious about the new armor, it may be more comfortable.” Hunk said, wrapping his arm around his friend’s shoulders

“That would be nice,” Pidge conceded

“I’ll make a trip down to Shay as soon as possible.”

“Someone was looking for an excuse huh?” Pidge teased and Hunk shoved her away playfully, if this was what his first few acts as king were like, maybe he wouldn’t be as bad as people (Lotor) had convinced him he would be.


	2. Lions and Feasts

A few days later, Hunk found himself wandering the halls of the castle when Allura ran into him.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere! C’mon!” She said excitedly before dragging the king through a series of passages and hallways into a cave system beneath the castle. Allura tore down the stairs, and Hunk tripped, tumbling down to a ledge. When he stood up and regained his balance, he looked up at a mighty yellow creature.

It was a lion, half the size of the lower town, with golden wings sprouting from it’s shoulder blades. It was the lion from the Pendragon crest, here in front of his own eyes.

Hunk took a cautious step forward, before noticing that it was chained to the rock it sat on.

He turned to Allura “What happened?”

The lion spoke, in a rumbling kind voice “Uther. Your father summoned me and the rest of my kind to slaughter us, and when I lay broken, weeping for my fallen brothers and sisters, he imprisoned me beneath his castle, and left me to rot.”

Hunk turned back to the lion and began to climb over to the rock it sat on. Sitting by the shackle around the lion’s ankle, he began to cut away at it with his sword “Do you have a name, Great Lion?”

“Not one I can remember. I forgot I existed before the young Princess found me.” replied the lion, as it lay down on the rock surface looking at Hunk. 

As Hunk finished cutting the metal band, he stood, and broke it entirely. He turned to the great lion and held out a hand

“In my Camelot, you are free, and you are safe.” He said softly. The lion seemed to smile as she pressed her snout into Hunk’s hand, and purred. A soft glow radiated from beneath the King’s palm, growing so bright the Allura had to close her eyes. 

When Hunk pulled his hand away, the glow receded, until it remained only in the eyes of the Lion and the King. 

_

A few weeks had passed since Hunk’s first Round Table meeting, and the kingdom hadn’t fallen to ruins yet. In fact, the kingdom’s farms had seen a boom in production since the decriminalization of magic went into effect. Sorcerers and Magicians were free to practice magic and seemed to be showing their gratitude by casting spells that helped farmers. 

More knights-in-training had also appeared, half of whom were girls, and most of whom were not from noble families, and man could they fight. Hunk was amazed at how quickly they picked things up, not to mention the positive impact the new knightley requirements had on the existing knights. 

Lance had stepped up, with Keith in tow, to train as many of the new knights as possible. The two ran drills focused on how to defend against hostile magic. 

Pidge had also decided to take several of the girls under her wing, training them into her own little army. They were utterly terrifying and always won during training battles. 

Hunk looked over the training grounds from his council window and smiled. He was doing well. Soon, the druidic people would be coming for a feast and to appoint delegates to the council themselves, the Lion had become a regular sight at Camelot, sitting in the throne and council chambers and offering her advice, having chosen Hunk as her own. She was around so much, Hunk and the knights had taken to calling her Buidhe, and with all of these changes, the kingdom of Camelot had almost forgotten the horrible siege and invasion led by Zarkon only a few months prior.

“You look deep in thought.” Came a voice at the door to the council chamber.

Hunk turned and smiled at Shay, the stained glass windows casting layers of color over her dark skin. Her short hair was filled with flowers, and she looked beautiful. The King could’ve stared at her for hours, and probably would have if Buidhe hadn’t subtly hit him with her tail. 

“Just thinking about the kingdom, what’s next, all that... stuff.” He replied, walking towards her

“Seems to me you’ve got everything going great.” Shay replied, setting her laundry bags down “Allura said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes!” Hunk said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, “You’ve always known how this whole banquet planning works, and I can’t for the life of me figure it out. We’ve got three days before the delegates arrive and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” Shay giggled, and Hunk’s brain short-circuited. 

“Well, you need food, wine, and seating. Entertainment is not a given, but having minstrels wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Shay said, sitting down at the table, Hunk sitting next to her. The two began planning, every once and a while diverging from the task at hand to talk about their lives, not noticing the sun had set long ago until Hunk’s servant came looking for him, and Allura came looking for Shay.

Hunk looked up when his servant called for him and smiled sheepishly “I hope your laundry wasn’t too important, I’m afraid I’ve taken up your whole day.”

“Don’t apologize.” Shay smiled, “It’s nice to feel needed.”

“I always need you.” replied Hunk “Would you consider accompanying me to the feast? After all, without you, we’d be eating stale bread in the stables.”

Shay smiled “I’d be honoured your majesty.” and she bowed, before leaving with her laundry in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So shorter chapter (blame season 6), but I wanted to post something! Thank you for your comments, it means a lot!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is only the first part of my planned contribution to the Hunk Revolution Big Bang on Tumblr, I will continue updating it until I've finished, I may branch off in some spots with separate fics focusing on other character's disappearances from Hunk's main narrative, but that's all in the future.
> 
> @marvelmerlinao3 on tumblr


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